Indiana University Press blog

Norbert Krapf to perform at Bob Dylan Birthday Bash

On May 22 from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m., the Indianapolis ArtsGarden will host a Bob Dylan Birthday Bash to celebrate the singer/songwriter's 72nd birthday. This second annual tribute will feature IUP author Norbert Krapf and bluesman Gordon Bonham.

During the event, Krapf will recite poetry from his Songs in Sepia and Black and White collection (IUP, 2012) and from his new prose poem cycles collection American Dreams (Mongrel Empire Press).

Admission is free. Check the Indianapolis ArtsGarden website for more details on the event.

Learn more about Norbert Krapf and his book Songs in Sepia and Black and White on our website or in this review by the Yearbook of German-American Studies:

"Pursuing a tri-fold creative concept that unites poetry, art in the form of photography, and music is certainly not a light challenge. Norbert Krapf has mastered it with remarkable virtuosity and once again reinforced his reputation as the pre-eminent German-American poet of the English language."

Celebrate National Poetry Month with two Hoosier poets

April is National Poetry Month! To celebrate, we're featuring work from two poets with Indiana roots.

Our first selection comes from Songs in Sepia and Black and White, written by former Indiana Poet Laureate Norbert Krapf. In this podcast, Krapf reads “The Voice,” a tribute poem to the unique sound of Bob Dylan.

Our next poem is from Riley Farm-Rhymes (to be reissued this month) by the "Hoosier Poet" James Whitcomb Riley. After a snow-filled March, I think we're all longing for the time "When The Green Gits Back In The Trees."

When The Green Gits Back In The Trees

In Spring, when the green gits back in the trees,
And the sun comes out and STAYS,
And yer boots pulls on with a good tight squeeze,
And you think of yer bare-foot days;
When you ORT to work and you want to NOT,
And you and yer wife agrees
It's time to spade up the garden-lot,
When the green gits back in the trees
Well! work is the least o' MY idees
When the green, you know, gits back in the trees!

When the green gits back in the trees, and bees
Is a-buzzin' aroun' ag'in
In that kind of a lazy go-as-you-please
Old gait they bum roun' in;
When the groun's all bald whare the hay-rick stood,
And the crick's riz, and the breeze
Coaxes the bloom in the old dogwood,
And the green gits back in the trees,—
I like, as I say, in sich scenes as these,
The time when the green gits back in the trees!

When the whole tail-feathers o' Wintertime
Is all pulled out and gone!
And the sap it thaws and begins to climb,
And the swet it starts out on
A feller's forred, a-gittin' down
At the old spring on his knees—
I kindo' like jest a-loaferin' roun'
When the green gits back in the trees—
Jest a-potterin' roun' as I—durn—please—
When the green, you know, gits back in the trees!

Book review: Songs in Sepia and Black and White

"This volume is quintessential Indiana. ... Some of Krapf’s poetry is breathtakingly moving. Most of it is very insightful. ... For those who have a connection to the fields and people of Indiana, or even places with marked similarities to Indiana, this is certainly a poetry collection that deserves to be picked up." —Englewood Review of Books

Videos: IU Press authors discuss writing at Indiana Authors Award events

Last fall, IUP authors Barbara Shoup (An American Tune) and Dan Wakefield (Going All the Way) were both recipients of the 2012 Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award. Shoup won the award in the Regional Author category while Wakefield received the first-ever Lifetime Achievement award. We recently came across these videos from Indiana Authors Award events held September 29 at the Central Library in Indianapolis. Here is Shoup's reaction to being named the Regional Author winner (and we thank her for all the nice things she said about working with us!):

In this clip from a panel discussion with the Indiana Author Awards winners, Shoup and National Author winner John Green discuss books that influenced their careers:

During the panel, Dan Wakefield discusses his writing career and his relationship with fellow Indiana author Kurt Vonnegut:

And finally, IUP authors Norbert Krapf (Songs in Sepia and Black and White) and Monika Herzig (David Baker) talk about their books at the Indy Author Fair, held before the award dinner.

More videos from the event are available on the Central Library's YouTube channel.

December Events for Norbert Krapf

Poet Norbert Krapf has the following December events planned for his latest release Songs in Sepia and Black and White:

December 1

Krapf, along with 12 other IU Press authors, will sign copies of his book at the Holiday Author Fair from 12 to 4 p.m. at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center in Indianapolis.

December 7

Krapf will present a free reading from his poetry collection at Indy Reads in Indianapolis at 7 p.m.

December 12

Krapf will read German roots poems from Songs in Sepia and Black and White at the monthly Stammtisch gathering of the Indiana German Heritage Society. The reading will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Max Kade Room at the Athenaeum in Indianapolis. There is an optional dinner at 6:30 p.m. The reading is free and open to the public.

Related articles

Poetry podcast: Norbert Krapf reads "Girl of the Hill Country" from Songs in Sepia and Black and White

Poetry podcast: Norbert Krapf reads "Come with Me" from Songs in Sepia and Black and White

Poetry podcast: Norbert Krapf reads "Goodnight, Irene" from Songs in Sepia and Black and White

November author events for Norbert Krapf

Norbert Krapf, author of Songs in Sepia and Black and White, has the following events planned for November:

November 3

Village Lights Bookstore in Madison, IN, will host a free Songs in Sepia reading and booksigning with Krapf from 1 to 3 p.m. Later that evening at 7:30 p.m., he will recite poems from his new book with musical backing by Gordon Bonham (suggested $15 donation).

November 10

Krapf will read from Songs in Sepia at 2 p.m. at Bookmamas in Indianapolis, IN. The event is free. 

November 15

Twenty Indiana poets will gather at Indiana Landmarks in Indianapolis, IN, for a Poetry on Brick Street reading of new poems about, fittingly, Indiana landmarks. As part of the event, Krapf will read a new poem about the Wollenmann House in Ferdinand, IN. The free reading starts at 7 p.m.

November 17

Krapf will present a free reading of Songs in Sepia at Viewpoint Books in Columbus, IN at 2 p.m.

Halloween poetry by Norbert Krapf

Have you ever thought how the pumpkins feel when they are used for our eating and decorative pleasure? Norbert Krapf considers this point of view in the following poem from his collections Invisible Presence and Bloodroot (I'm blogging this as I'm drinking a pumpkin latte, so I hope the "Army of Orange" forgives me!):

Army of Orange

We’ve had it, we’re fed up,
get out of our way, we have
joined forces. Today the patch,
tomorrow the whole wide world!
We are the Army of Orange.

No more pies on Turkey Day!
No more soups with nutmeg
and butter. Keep your nasty
knife to yourself, stop cutting
out those toothy grins
& stupid triangular eyes!
Never again will you dare
to roast & salt our seeds
or stick a burning candle
in the middle of our belly.

If you think you can keep on
slinging our slimy guts
into the garbage, Mr. and Mrs.
Homebody, why don’t you just
pucker up and give our bottoms
one great big resounding smack?

Happy Halloween, and if you're in the Indianapolis area today, be sure to stop by the Indianapolis ArtsGarden at 12:15 p.m. to hear Norbert read this poem!

Lebanon Public Library hosts free reading and signing with Norbert Krapf

Norbert Krapf will read and sign copies of his new book Songs in Sepia and Black and White at the Lebanon Public Library in Lebanon, IN, October 10. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Eileen Julien's "Ode to Writing"

At last week's panel with IU women scholars, Eileen Julien recited an ode about why she writes. She has graciously allowed us to share it on our blog.

Ode to Writing

Write to read
Write to learn
Write to question
Write to doubt
Write to discover
Write to unearth
Write to understand
Write to see
Write to soar

Write to describe
Write to distill
Write to explain
Write to tell
Write to affirm
Write to persuade
Write to inspire
Write to witness
Write to clarify
Write to challenge
Write to provoke
Write to share
Write to comfort

Write to remember
Write to feel
Write to confess
Write to cry
Write to let go
Write to laugh
Write to sing
Write to love
Write to grow
Write to dream
Write to live

Eileen Julien is Professor of Comparative Literature, African American and African Diaspora Studies, and French and Italian at Indiana University Bloomington. She is author of African Novels and the Question of Orality (IUP, 1992) and Travels with Mae (IUP, 2009).

Celebrate the release of 'Songs in Sepia and Black and White' this Friday

The Putnam County Library in Greencastle, IN, will host “A Conversation with the Artists: Norbert Krapf, Richard Fields, and Gordon Bonham” October 5. Krapf will perform poems from  Songs in Sepia and Black and White with musical backing provided by Bonham. Fields will also exhibit his photos from the book at the event. The photo exhibit starts at 6:30 p.m. with the performance following at 7 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the library's website.

Preview Norbert's and Gordon's performance of "The Voice" this Friday in this IU Press podcast: